Stolen
by purplepagoda
Summary: A normal Sunday morning leads to a painful stroll down memory lane. Can Beckett and Castle's relationship survive her biggest secret yet?
1. Anniversary

It's Sunday morning, Castle is lying in bed reading the newspaper. It's dark, and dreary outside. A September shower is on going outside. The tapping on the window pane is a reminder of their foiled plans. He looks over at Beckett. She sits in bed, with her hair pulled into a sloppy bun. She leans against the headboard, with the paper covering her lap. He furrows his brow, realizing that she is staring blankly ahead, instead of reading the words on the page in front of her. He clears his throat. She doesn't look at him.

"Kate?"

She still doesn't look at him, as she responds, "Yeah?"

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah," she lies.

"Are you sure?"

"I think I'm just going to go," she answers.

"Go? Go where? We have the day off which is rare. We have the house to ourselves which is damn near impossible. Why do you want to leave?"

"I just need to go," she responds, as she pushes the covers off of her.

"Let's talk about this. What is going on?"

She sits on the edge of the bed, "Nothing," she lies.

"Kate why do you want to leave all of the sudden?"

"I didn't realize what today was," she mutters as she slides out of the bed.

He stares at her, as she moves away from the bed. He climbs out of bed, walking around the end. He approaches her as she pulls on a pair of pants. He gently grabs her arm.

"What do you mean you didn't realize what today was?"

"Nothing, never mind," she responds, "Let go of me, please," she tells him in a subdued tone.

"Are you ok?" he wonders.

"I just want to go home, and be alone for a while, ok?"

"I can respect that. Can you please explain?"

"No," she shakes her head, still refusing to make eye contact.

"Ok," he lets go of her.

She exits the room. She leaves the apartment. He doesn't follow her. He heads to the bathroom to get into the shower, and try to make sense of what's just happened. An hour later he's showered, dressed, had breakfast, and read the entire newspaper. He sits in his office in front of his computer. He searches the date, for the past ten years of crimes committed in the city. He scrolls through pages, and pages, but nothing sticks out.

* * *

She sits in her living room, on her couch. She sits in silence, alone in the apartment. She listens to the sound of the rain tapping on the window, outside. A day like this brings back too many memories. She swallows hard, and returns to the task at hand. She looks at the manila folder lying in front of her. There are papers strewn across the couch. On the coffee table there are papers scattered everywhere. To an outsider the miscellaneous papers look like a disaster, to her it all makes sense, except for the fact that they even exist.

She's in the middle of reading one of the papers, when she hears someone knocking on her door. Knowing who it is, by the fact that she's missed half a dozen phone calls from him in the past hour, she doesn't stir. She remains quiet, hoping that he might go away.

"I know that you're in there," he calls from the other side.

She doesn't budge, and she doesn't dare say a word.

He continues, "I am not going anywhere until you open the door. I can stand out here in the hallway all day if I have to."

She groans, and lifts a pile of papers off her lap. She places the papers on the coffee table, in front of her, and vacates her seat on the couch. She takes a deep breath, and approaches the door. She places her hand on the lock. It takes her several moments to get up the courage to turn the lock. Finally she twists the lock, and pulls the door open. She leaves the chain in place, so that he can't waltz in. He furrows his brow.

"Really? You're not going to let me in."

"What are you doing here?" she questions him.

"I came to check on you."

"Why?"

"You wouldn't answer my calls, or my texts. I was worried about you."

"I was avoiding you," she admits.

"Why? Kate just tell me what's going on."

"I can't."

"You can't, or you won't?"

"I told you that I just needed to be alone. Can't you respect that."

"You know I have difficulty with boundaries. You have always known that."

"This time I am asking you, nicely to give me some space."

"How much space?"

"I just need you to leave me alone."

"For how long."

"I just need today."

"Tell me why," he begs.

"If I tell you why you won't leave."

"I promise that I will."

"Don't make promise that you can't keep, ok?"

"Kate I don't understand. What happened? We were going to spend all day together, just hanging out around the house, just the two of us. You start reading the newspaper, and then you suddenly need to be alone. What is going on? What happened today?"

She shakes her head, "It isn't about today."

"Did I do something wrong?"

"You didn't do anything. Not everything is about you."

"I am sorry for being so egotistical. Please explain to me what is going on. Kate please let me in."

"You wouldn't understand."

"Then make me understand."

"I can't make you understand something that I have never understood, myself."

"Kate what happened? What is so special about today?"

She shakes her head, "Not special."

"Awful? Terrible? Tragic?" he supplies adjectives.

"All of the above," she admits.

"Tell me. I am not going anywhere. I am here for you. Please," he begs.

"I just, I can't."

"Why not? After everything that we have been through? I feel like you still don't trust me."

"Castle it has nothing to do with me trusting you, or not."

"Then what does it have to do with?"

She swallows hard, and looks him in the eyes, "There are a lot of things that you don't know about me. There are a lot of things that I have never told you."

"Things that you are never going to tell me?"

She shrugs, "I just don't know if I can. I don't know if I can ever tell you."

"Secrets drive a wedge between people," he reminds her.


	2. Facts In A File

She pushes the door closed, and unchains it. She pulls the door open, and allows him to step inside. He looks at the scene in her living room. There are papers everywhere. She leads him to the couch. She points.

"Have a seat," she says flatly.

"What is all of this?" he questions.

"A case file," she answers solemnly.

"A case file?" he takes one of the nearby pieces of paper. He looks at the date on the top, "From September eighth, two thousand, and eight?"

"Yes," she confirms, with a nod.

"Why this case? What about this case haunts you? I am assuming that it is unsolved?"

"Yes."

"You have other unsolved cases, what is special about this one?" he wonders looking at her face, and not the papers surrounding them. She sits on the arm of the couch. She looks at the papers, and then she looks at him, before she answers.

"It wasn't my case," she responds, desperately avoiding making eye contact.

"That explains why I couldn't find anything that made sense."

"Excuse me?" she arches an eyebrow.

"I did a search on NYPD cases from the past ten years on this date. I didn't find anything that stood out."

"That's because it wasn't an NYPD case. It wasn't a case that I worked."

"You didn't work on it?"

She shakes he head, "No."

"So whose case was it?"

"New Jersey State Police, and the FBI," she reveals.

"What was the case?"

"It was a missing persons case."

"Missing persons?"

"A little boy," she adds.

"Why does a case involving a little boy from New Jersey, from five years ago, haunt you? Could you have done something to prevent it? Did you know the kid?"

She doesn't make eye contact. He locks eyes on her face, despite the fact that she refuses to look at him. He tries to read her. All he can see is a look of despair on her face. Finally she answers, in a hushed tone, "Yes."

"Yes? To which one?"

"Both," she responds quietly.

"Kate what is going on?"

"September eight two thousand and eight a two year old little boy went missing."

"Are you the one who found him?"

"No," she shakes her head.

"So..." he tries to fill in the details of the story.

"They didn't find him."

"He has been missing for five years?"

She swallows hard, choking back tears, "He went missing on his birthday."

"You knew him?"

"Castle," her voice cracks.

As he scrutinizes her body language, and her facial expression she avoids his glance. She stares at the floor. She wears a look of anguish. He can see that she is on the verge of tears. He realizes that he is having difficulty filling in the details, because it's her story to tell.

"Kate?"

She looks up, she finally makes eye contact. She exhales, and the tears spill from her eyes. They begin to trickle down her cheeks. He carefully collects the papers that lay at rest, between them. He gently places them on the coffee table. He scoots forward, towards her. He reaches out, and takes her hand. He squeezes it, and simply looks at her.

"You can tell me," he says in a quiet, reassuring voice.

"I can't," she shakes her head.

"You can tell me anything," he insists.

"Not this."

"Please," he begs her.

"There are a lot of things that you don't know about me," she reminds him.

"I want to know about this one. Tell me about this one, please."

"His name was Dominick," she begins.

"Dominick?"

"It was his second birthday," she continues.

"Ok."

She turns away from him. She pulls her hand out of his. She vacates her seat. She frantically goes through the piles of papers. She meticulously places them in order, in a neat stack. She places the stack back into the manila folder. She hands the folder to him.

"I can't," she shakes her head, "Just read it."

He takes the folder from her, and she leaves the room. He carefully reads the case file. He looks through the included crime scene photos. At the very back is a picture, of the little boy. He's got dark curls, hazel eyes, and a big smile on his face. Castle closes the file folder, and then gets off the couch. He exits the living room, and heads towards Kate's room. He finds her sitting on the bed, in silence. He stands in the doorway. She looks up at him. He enters the bedroom, and takes a seat next to her on the bed.

"I read the file," he admits.

"So then we don't have to talk about it."

"We still have to talk about it," he disagrees.

"Everything is in that file."

He shakes his head, "No there are a lot of things that aren't in that file."

"What do you want me to say?"

"Anything."

"I don't want to talk about this."

"But you need to," he argues.

"How do you know what I need?!"

"Because I know you, or at least I thought I did."

"I can't do this."

"Kate, please," he begs.

"This was a mistake."

"Please. What I want to know, those things are not in that file."

"It's thirty six pages worth of documents, and twenty four pictures. What more could you want?"

"I want you to tell me about Dominick."


	3. Hidden Truths

"What do you want me to tell you?" she questions.

"I have known you for years. You never once mentioned this, why?"

"I don't talk about it. I never talk about it, and I never have."

"Never?"

"No," she shakes her head.

"You are telling me that no one knows about this?"

"My father," she admits.

"What about Ryan, or Esposito? Are you really telling me that neither of them know?"

"I never told them."

"Kate explain it to me."

"I don't know how to explain it. Most days I can't make sense of it myself."

"Please," he begs, "Take your time."

"I was an unmarried female cop. I worked hard to earn my job. Co-workers, men, especially don't feel comfortable asking questions like that."

"Ryan, and Esposito aren't shy. Neither of them have difficulty asking questions."

"Neither of them are bold enough to walk up to someone, and ask her if she's pregnant."

"What about your boss?"

"He knew," she admits.

"And?"

"When people make the assumption that you're pregnant, and you return from time off, and say nothing about your baby, they don't ask questions."

"I don't understand."

"My life was my job. I had been seeing someone for a few months when I found out that I was pregnant. It was not planned. He was out of the picture before I finished telling him. Having a child, that was never something that I thought that I wanted."

He nods, "Which is why you never said anything to your colleagues."

"I never intended to keep the baby. I didn't know how I was going to explain that, but I thought that if I didn't announce my pregnancy to the world, that maybe people wouldn't ask."

"So what happened?"

* * *

_September 8th, 2006-_

_ The nurse places the screaming baby on her chest. She looks down at the newborn. She can't take her eyes off of the slimy looking newborn. She swallows hard, and chokes back tears. She stares at the face of the baby boy, as if she's looking at an angel._

_"Hi, buddy," she greets him. His crying instantly stops. His eyes search the room for the source of her voice. The nurse lifts the baby from her chest, and carries him away. After a few moments the newborn is returned to her. He is swaddled in a blanket, and wears a cap to cover his matted hair. The nurse places the newborn in her arms._

* * *

"Why didn't you tell them?"

"I wanted my personal life to be private. I always have. To be honest, I really didn't want to share him. I know that sounds cold, but I was afraid that the wrong people would find out."

"You were afraid that a criminal would find out."

"I didn't know that I could ever love anyone that much."

"Tell me what happened."

"My dad was watching him. I was at work. We were just going to have cake after I got home. I was running late, really late. My dad said that Dominick wasn't feeling good, he thought that he was catching a cold. He gave him a bath, and put him in bed. He fell asleep right away."

* * *

_September 8th, 2008-_

_ She enters the house. She finds her father in the living room, watching a ball game. She carries the cake into the kitchen. She returns to the living room. _

_"Would it be wrong to wake him up, and feed him cake?" she questions. _

_Jim mutes the television, and looks at her, "Kate it's almost nine o'clock. He's barely been asleep an hour. If you wake him up now you'll never get him back to sleep."_

_"It's his birthday, and I haven't gotten to see him all day. He was asleep when I left."_

_"He's not feeling good, either. He sounded congested. I plugged in the vaporizer, I hope that clears him out."_

_"I am just going to go check on him," she insists._

_"Don't wake him up," he begs._

_"I will try not to."_

_She heads out of the living room, and up the stairs. She reaches the top of the staircase, and heads to the first room on the left. She pushes the door open the rest of the way. The lamp in the corner of the room is on. She goes over to the racecar bed with the intention of climbing in, and snuggling the little boy. She takes a seat on the edge of the bed. She pulls back the covers, and finds that the bed is empty. She runs over to the light switch, and flips it on. She looks around the room, but there is no sign of her son._

_"Dominick? 'Nick where are you?"_

_She doesn't elicit a response. She tries not to panic, thinking of her son's recent obsession with hide and seek._

_"Dominick if you're hiding you need to come out. Mommy doesn't think this is funny."_

_She doesn't hear any movement, or giggling. She turns, and looks at the window. Her heart sinks the moment she realizes that it's open._

* * *

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I never told anyone. Everyone assumed that I didn't have a kid."

"Kate that is a heavy burden to carry on your own."

"I know."

"They thought that the father took him?"

"For about ten minutes, until they realized that he was in Phoenix when Dominick was taken."

"They never had any other leads?"

"No one saw anything. No one heard anything. There was no forensic evidence. There were no fingerprints, no hairs, no shoe prints, or tire tracks. There was nothing. it was like he vanished into thin air."

"A two year old would not have gone with a stranger, willingly."

"Dominick wouldn't have gone with anyone. He would have screamed his head off."

"And no one heard anything?"

"No."

"What if it was someone that Dominick knew?"

"They checked everyone's alibi. The babysitter, the neighbor, the clerk at the gas station. None of them took him."

"I can't believe that you never told me this."

"How could I tell you? You can't just go up to someone after knowing them for years, and say, oh by the way, I had a son, and he's been missing for five years."


	4. Unstoppable

"You know what the worst part about it is?" she questions.

"Tell me."

"He was too young to remember me. He is out there somewhere, and I don't know if he's safe, or if he's happy. I don't know what kind of life he has. In my heart I want to believe I would know if he weren't still alive, but I have no proof to confirm, or deny. I know that it is naive to think that he's out there somewhere, and that he's okay, but thinking anything else..." she trails off.

He wraps his arms around her, and holds her tightly, "I know."

"He would be seven today," she points out as he lets go.

"Seven," he nods.

"I have spent five years reading this file over, and over again. I think about every detail of the days leading up to his disappearance. I have analyzed every single thing I did, or said. I have thought about every place I took him, who might have seen him. I talked to every person we came into contact with for a week before he was taken. And there are never any leads."

"Tell me about his father."

"The FBI cleared him as a suspect within twenty four hours."

"That isn't what I meant," he clarifies.

"He is a lawyer."

"I guess that I assumed he was some young chump."

"When I told him that I was pregnant he bailed."

"What a dirt bag."

"Up until I found out that I was pregnant he had me convinced that he was a good guy."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Castle there isn't anything you can do that I haven't already done."

"Are you sure?"

"I know you want to fix this, but you can't. I just need to be alone."

He nods, "Ok."

"Thank you."

* * *

Hours later he is sitting in his office, at his desk, in front of his computer. He pulls out his phone, and dials a familiar number.

"Before you hang up just listen to me, for a second."

"Castle I told you I just want to be alone."

"I just need two minutes of your time," he insists.

"Fine."

"How much did you really know about Eric Branson?"

"Not nearly as much as I should have. We weren't together that long."

"Did you know that he was raised by his grandmother?"

"Castle let me stop you there. This is not a case. This is not something that you can solve. I need you to let me deal with this on my own, in my own terms."

"Please just let me explain," he begs.

"Fine."

"He was raised by his grandmother."

"You already said that," she points out.

"Did you know that his grandmother also raised his cousin Rebecca?"

"I did not know that."

"They were less than a year apart in age."

"Castle what is your point?"

"His cousin Rebecca lives in New Jersey."

"Castle stop trying to make a connection. There is no connection. They cleared Eric. They never thought that he had anything to do with Dominick's disappearance."

"What did your gut tell you?"

"I tracked him down. I followed up with law enforcement in Phoenix. I called them every single day for a month. He didn't have Dominick with him."

"Kate there is something wrong with all of this."

"What makes you say that?"

"Rebecca lived less than an hour from Newark."

"What makes you think that his cousin would take Dominick? We don't even know how close they were."

"They were raised in the same house. They lost their parents in the same accident. Rebecca is married to someone who works for the FBI."

"What?"

"Kenneth Davidson. He was..."

Kate cuts him off, "I know who he was. He was the lead investigator. Castle what are you telling me?"

"He was in charge of the investigation. They didn't find any leads, because he didn't want them to."

"You think that his wife kidnapped my son?"

"Yes."

"And did what with him?"

"Took him home. They have three other kids. No one would notice an extra kid being there for a while."

"A while? What happened after a while?"

"You stopped calling Phoenix."

"What?"

"Two months after Dominick disappeared Eric moved."

"How did you find all of this out?"

"I am a writer. I do research. People are more apt to talk to writers, they think they might get mentioned in a book."

"So what is your theory?"

"After the dust settled a little bit Rebecca took Dominick to Eric."

"You think that he has my son?"

"It is worth a shot, isn't it?"

"It is purely a theory."

"That is exactly why I am going to pay Rebecca a visit."

"You can't just go to her house."

"I am going to."

"Castle promise me that you won't."

"I just want to help you."

"Castle this isn't helping. All you have are theories. I need proof."

"I understand."

"Can we talk about this later?"

"Yes," he nods, hanging up the phone. He looks at his phone. He thinks about the picture of the her little boy. Kate has a son. A son that has been missing for five years. He can't imagine not seeing his child for five years. "I'll find proof, Kate," he vows, to himself.


	5. Holding On

That night he lies in bed, wide awake. All he can think about is a two year old boy being ripped from the only family he has ever known. He gets out of his bed, and leaves the apartment. He finds himself at Kate's apartment. He uses the key that he has secretly made a copy of. He lets himself in. He quietly heads towards her room. He hesitates in the doorway wondering if she's heard him. He questions whether it is safe to enter the room or not. The light flips on. Kate blinks as she looks at him.

"What are you doing here? It is the middle of the night."

"I thought about what you said?"

"What part?"

"Wanting to be alone."

"Castle," she tries to reason with him.

He enters the room, and stops in front of her bed, "It's a load of crap."

"Why are you here?"

"I just felt like I should be here, with you," he tells her.

"Fine."

He crawls into bed, next to her. She flips off the lamp, and settles into his arms.

"Kate," he whispers.

"I know that this is hard for you. I can't imagine what this feels like. If you want to talk, I'm right here."

"What would you want me to say?"

"Anything. What was he like?"

"He was happy. He was sweet."

"He made you happy."

"No matter how rough my day at work was I would go home, and see his face, and nothing else mattered."

"You talk about losing your mother, and I know that was painful, why don't you ever talk about this?"

"It's unresolved. I may never find him. I may never know what happened to him. It kills me to think about what might have happened to him. I don't know where he is. I don't know if I will ever know where he is."

When he wakes up he finds that the bed is empty. He sits up, and looks around the room.

"Kate?"

"I'm in here," her voice calls to him from the closet.

He slides out of the bed, and heads towards the closet. He finds her sitting inside of the closet, with the light on. She sits on the floor, in an oversized t-shirt, with a box in front of her. He leans against the doorjamb.

"What are you doing?"

She looks at the box that still has it's lid on it. "Trying to open the box."

"What do you mean? How long have you been in the closet."

She looks at her watch, "Almost an hour now."

"Why don't you come out of the closet, and bring the box with you?"

"If I sit in here with the unopened box..." she begins to explain.

"You're hiding."

"Yes," she nods in confirmation.

"From what?"

"Reality. I am hiding from the fact that I have to go to work soon, and I just want to stay in this closet."

He offers her his hand. She reaches for him. He helps her get off the floor. He steps past her, and lifts the box off the floor. She looks at him in confusion.

"What are you doing?"

"Bringing it into the light."

She furrows her brow, "Why?"

He places it on her bed, and lifts the lid off. "When your son went missing how much time did you take off?"

"A few days. I wanted so badly to keep looking for him on my own, but being in without him... it was more than I could take. I would wake up in the morning, and go into his room, praying that he had magically reappeared. And when I would flip on the light, and look at his empty bed, and a room wrapped in crime scene tape, I couldn't function. I would sit in his room all day."

"Call in sick," he tells her.

"I can't," she argues.

"Kate at some point you have to face this."

"Face what Castle? He is gone. I don't know how to find him. I don't know where to look. All _I_ know is that my son was stolen from me. I was supposed to be home hours earlier. If I had been there none of this would have ever happened. He would be here. He wouldn't be out there somewhere. Yesterday was his birthday. All I wanted was to see his face. I wanted to wake up, and go into his room, and tell him happy birthday. But I can't."

"You were living with your dad then?"

"We decided to move to New Jersey after I found out I was pregnant. I wanted to bring my son home to a house in the suburbs. I wanted him to grow up in a safe neighborhood. I somehow forgot that there are monsters everywhere. There is no safe place in this world anymore."

"Kate what is in the box?"

She takes a seat on the edge of the bed, next to the box. She lifts the object on the top of the pile off. She stares at the receiving blanket for a moment. After a moment she unwraps it. She pulls out an object that has remained safely wrapped in the blanket for years. She swallows hard as she looks at the clay. Two tiny handprints stare up at her. There is a name, and date inscribed on the bottom of plaque. The tears in her eyes overflow onto her cheeks. She looks over at Castle. He sits next to her, in silence, with a look of understanding.

"My dad took him to make this. They gave it to me for my first mother's day."

"When I look at Alexis's clay handprints it always strikes me how small they are. It's hard to believe that she was ever that small."

"Will you call, I..." she trails off.

"I'll take care of it," he nods as he vacates his seat on the bed. He grabs his phone off of her nightstand, and leaves the room. He makes the phone call. When he returns the clay handprints are sitting next to her on the bed. He finds another item in her hands. He silently returns to his seat. She stares at the cover of the book in silence.

"His baby book?"

"Yeah," she nods as she flips open the cover.

He reads over her shoulder. He looks at what's written on the page. It reads like statistics. Full legal name. Date of birth. Length, and weight. Head circumference, and chest circumference. At the bottom of the page is a set of footprints. Below the footprints a hospital I.D. band is taped to the page. Castle breaks the awkward silence as his eyes fall on length, and weight.

"Nine pounds two ounces, and twenty two inches. That is a big baby."

"He didn't really seem to want to come out," she admits, "He was almost two weeks overdue."


	6. Burning Questions

"So he was stubborn, like you?"

"I'm not stubborn," she argues.

She flips to the next page. She stares at the picture of her newborn baby. Castle smirks as he looks at it.

"He looks just like you."

"I was bald when I was born," she responds.

"Kate can I ask you something?"

She simply nods.

"When he was taken, was he the only thing missing?"

She shakes her head, "They took his monkey. It was a stuffed animal that I bought him at the zoo."

"You think they took it because they couldn't get out of the house with him if they didn't?"

"They took the wrong stuffed animal. From the time he could talk he always wanted half of a dozen stuffed animals to sleep with. He liked being squished into bed with them."

"You let him sleep with that many?"

"No I always made him narrow it down to three. He slept with the monkey a lot, but most of the stuffed animals rotated. It was as if he wanted to give them each the same amount of time."

"You said that they took the wrong stuffed animal."

"First of all the monkey make noises that could grate on a saints patience. Second of all he didn't have to have the monkey to go to sleep. He had this dog. We named it Sam, because it looked like the neighbors dog."

"Named Sam?"

"Yes," she confirms.

"Where is Sam now? Is he in this box?"

"This is mostly papers, and a few keepsakes."

"Where is Sam? Did you get rid of him?"

"He's still there."

"What do you mean, he's still there?"

"In New Jersey."

"Why?"

"I never took anything out of his room."

"Your dad doesn't live in that house anymore."

"No," she shakes her head, "We moved back to the city."

"And the house?"

"It was a foreclosure. My dad bought it for nothing, and spent six months fixing it up so that it would be ready when Dominick came home from the hospital."

"And was it?"

"He finished it on my due date."

"And Dominick didn't show up for a while after that."

"Yeah."

"How long did you stay there?"

"It was too painful to be in that house without Dominick. I saw him everywhere. There were pictures of him in every room. His finger-paintings were on the fridge. His toys were strewn across the entire house. His swing set was in the backyard. His little froggy bathrobe was hanging on a hook on the back of the bathroom door. There wasn't a room in that house I could go in, and not be reminded of him. We left it two weeks after he was taken. We thought the move back to the city would be temporary, just until we found him. That was a couple weeks shy of five years ago."

"Have you been back since?"

"No," she shakes her head.

"So the house is just sitting there, empty?"

"Yeah," she nods.

"So you really never did move on."

"What do you mean?"

"You left everything the way it was the day that he was taken."

"Yeah."

"You didn't sell the house."

"No."

"Or clean it, and rent it out?"

"No."

"You left his stuff right where it was."

"Neither one of us could bring ourselves to clean any of it out."

"I think that it's time."

"But..."

"Kate you should at least go back."

"Why?"

"Maybe you will remember something you didn't think of before."

An hour later they're standing on the front porch of a house in a suburban neighborhood. The lawn is mowed. Kate puts the key in the door, and twists. She turns the knob, and opens the door. She pulls back the curtains to let the light of the day in. Castle looks around the room. Near the window there is a TV. The room contains a coffee table, a recliner, and a couch. The walls are lined with pictures. The coffee table is home to children's books. She turns on her flashlight, and focuses her attention on the staircase.

Castle follows her up the stairs. She stops at the first door on the left. She pushes the door open. She furrows her brow, when she finds that the lamp in the corner of the room is on. Castle looks at the dresser near the light switch. He finds a handwritten note. He picks it up, and hands it to her. It's a piece of notebook paper, with her name scrawled on the front.

"What does it say?" he questions.

She unfolds the note, and reads it to him, "Katie, if you're reading this you've finally come back here. I left the electric connected. I wanted to leave a light on for him. I come back here every once in a while, just to feel connected to him. I left his room the way it was the day he was taken. I figured maybe you would need to come back here too. Love, dad."

"Is it how you remember it?"

Kate places the note back on the dresser. She looks around the room. She opens drawers, and looks in the closet. Then her eyes fall on the bed. Castle notices the look on her face.

"What's wrong?"

"Sam's gone."

"What?!"

"The monkey went missing with him. Sam was here, right next to his bear."

"I see the bear. Maybe it fell off the bed."

Kate reaches into her pocket. She hands Castle a pair of gloves. "Put these on."

"It's not under the bed," he points out.

Beckett looks at the frame of the racecar bed, it is level with the floor, there is no way possible for it to be underneath.

"Maybe behind the bed?" he wonders.

"We could look."

He pulls the bed out, but it isn't behind it.

"Nothing," he responds.

"I haven't been back here. I didn't take it."

"Maybe your dad took it. Maybe he has his own box."

"He does, and Sam isn't in it."

"How do you know?"

"He took his freshly laundered footy pajamas out of the dryer, and cop car out of the backyard. He took a picture off the wall, and his car seat."

"Why the car seat?"

"So we would be ready when he came home."

"So you're saying someone came back after you left, and took it?"


	7. Leads

_ The following day Kate goes to work. Castle finds himself doing what he does best, snooping. He finds himself outside another cookie cutter home in another New Jersey neighborhood. He gets out of the car, and approaches the house. He finds a teenager in the driveway shooting hoops. He looks at the boy, and heads up the driveway._

_"Excuse me I'm looking for Rebecca Davidson."_

_"She's at work can I help you?"_

_"How old are you?"_

_"Fifteen," he answers._

_"Shouldn't you be in school?"_

_"I'm home schooled."_

_"What's your name?"_

_"Jacob."_

_"Jacob can I ask you a few questions?"_

_"Are you a cop?"_

_"Unfortunately I am not."_

_Jacob squints at him, "I recognize you. I saw you on T.V.. You're a writer."_

_"Yes, I am."_

_"Doing research for a book?"_

_"Sort of."_

_"Mister Castle how is it that I can help you?"_

_"I don't know if you can."_

_"You think that my mother can?"_

_"I am working on a story regarding a little boy who went missing. He was your mother's..."_

_Jacob cuts him off, "Dominick."_

_"You know who I'm talking about?"_

_"Yes. My parents divorced because of it."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"My dad was afraid of losing his job, for the role he had in it."_

_"What role would that be?"_

_"Making sure that there was no evidence."_

_"Your father took him?"_

_"My mother."_

_"You're admitting that?"_

_"I hate my parents. I would love to see both of them go to jail."_

_"Why?"_

_"They ruined a little kid's life. They took him from his mother."_

_"And they got away with it."_

_"For now. Why do you want to talk to my mother?"_

_"To ask her where Dominick is."_

_"He stayed with us for a while. Once things cooled off my mother took him to Eric."_

_"So Eric has him?"_

_"Not anymore."_

_"What happened?"_

_"Eric called us a couple of weeks after he took Dominick to Phoenix. Eric is an attorney."_

_"I read that."_

_"He represented a man by the name of Felix Quinones. He was about my age."_

_"Represented him for what?"_

_"Felix was charged with murder. He was working for his father, Miguel. Miguel is a drug kingpin. Felix was convicted. He was killed in prison in the first week."_

_"So Miguel found out about Dominick, and killed him in revenge?"_

_"No. Miguel went to his office to confront him. He saw the picture of Dominick on his desk. He reminded him of Miguel. Miguel's wife, Sara was distraught. She just wanted her son back. Miguel knew that he couldn't resurrect his son. But, he could try to give his wife another son. Since his wife was in an accident, and couldn't have anymore kids, he saw his opportunity. He could make Eric pay, and give his wife what she wanted."_

_"And he knew that Eric took Dominick."_

_"Yes."_

_Castle shakes his head, "How do you know all of this?"_

_"Because I was ten. I eavesdropped on the conversation."_

_"So where is Eric?"_

_"He moved to New Mexico."_

_"He couldn't report his son missing, when he had already taken him unlawfully."_

_"Exactly."_

_"So where is Dominick?"_

_"As far as I know he is still in Phoenix."_

_"With the Quinones?"_

_"Yes."_

_Castle opens his file folder. He points to the crime scene photo, "Do you recognized this?" _

_Jacob looks at the picture of the stuffed toy, "Sam."_

_"You know about Sam?"_

_"Dominick could hardly sleep without him. He would cry for his mom, and for Sam. When we finally figured out who Sam was my dad went back to the house. He realized that they have moved out, so he took it."_

_"Did it work?"_

_Jacob shakes his head, "No. He still cried for his mom every single night."_

_"Thank you. You've been really helpful," Castle turns to leave._

_"Wait, don't you want the address?"_

_Castle looks at the boy, "Excuse me."_

_"I have been waiting for this day for five years. My parents think that they have gotten away with it. They both remarried. My mom doesn't feel guilty at all for what she did."_

_"And your father?"_

_"He and his wife had a child together."_

_"Had?"_

_"He died of SIDS. My father felt like it was his fault, because of what he did. He took Dominick from his mother, and so God took his little boy from him."_

_"You really have an address?"_

_"Every day for the past five years I have been waiting for the police to show up at our door. I was ten when they took Dominick. By ten my father had me convinced that criminals never get away with their crimes. I have held onto that hope for all of this time."_

_"Why didn't you say anything, to anyone?"_

_"I was always in trouble in school. No one would have believed me, I had a reputation for having quite the imagination. When I told one of my teachers my parents pulled me out of school. They insisted it was a misunderstanding. Neither of my siblings remembered anything."_

_"So they didn't believe you?"_

_"My siblings were three, and four. They didn't remember what happened, a year after the fact, but I did."_


	8. Covert Operations

_ His phone buzzes in his pocket, but he ignores it. He sits in a black SUV with a pair of binoculars. He looks at the cul-de-sac. He turns his attention to one house in particular. It looks like any other house on the street. It is a million dollar home. The lawn has fake grass. He is certain that there is a pool in the back. It doesn't look like the home of a drug kingpin. The front door opens. A boy steps outside, still wearing his school uniform. He carries a backpack, and there is a soccer ball under his arm. He walks down the sidewalk, towards the SUV. Castle rolls down the window._

_"Dominick," he whispers, praying that it's him._

_The boy stops, and looks at him. The boy approaches his vehicle._

_"Can I help you?"_

_"Dominick I don't know how to explain this to you..." Castle begins._

_"Are you a cop?"_

_"No."_

_"A drug dealer?"_

_"No. I'm here for you."_

_"Here for me?"_

_"To take you home."_

_"Home?"_

_Castle shakes his head, "You were probably too young to remember. I knew that this was a bad idea."_

_"Who are you?"_

_"My name is Richard Castle."_

_"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."_

_"I'm not a stranger."_

_"Prove it," the boy insists._

_"Do you still have Sam?"_

_"What?" the boy with hazel eyes, and a shaved head furrows his brow._

_"Sam, your dog."_

_He stands in front of Castle, wearing a pair of khaki pants, and a green polo with his school emblem on the chest. _

_"Give me an address."_

_"What?!" Castle responds._

_"If you want to take me home, where is home?"_

_"109 Oakmont Drive, Newark, New Jersey."_

_Without another word the boy goes to the backdoor of the car. He opens the door, and climbs in. Castle rolls up the window, and looks in his rearview._

_"You believe me?" Castle stares at the boy._

_"No one ever noticed that my dog had a tag on it with my address. No one but me. It has worn off now."_

_"Do you have any objection to me kidnapping you from your family, and taking you home?"_

_"They kidnapped me from my kidnapper."_

_"You remember that?"_

_"I remember a lot of things."_

_"We should get going."_

_"To the airport?"_

_"Yeah there is a private plane waiting on us."_

_"Are you going to wait on the police?"_

_"I am going to take you to your mom. Once you're home safe, the police can sort it out from there."_

_"You should drive fast."_

_"Why is that?"_

_"Miguel will kill you."_

_"Then let's go."_

* * *

_Hours later he finally answers his phone. _

_"Castle?"_

_"Yes," he answers._

_"Where have you been all day?"_

_"I've been working on my next project."_

_"Why haven't you been answering my calls, or texts?"_

_"I have been really busy."_

_"Are we still on for dinner?"_

_"Would you be upset if I had to change plans?"_

_"You're cancelling?"_

_"No, I just made different plans for us."_

_"What plans?"_

_"Can you meet me in Newark?"_

_"Why?"_

_"I have a surprise for you."_

_"A surprise? What kind of surprise?"_

_"I found Sam."_

_"You were in the house, without me?"_

_"Yeah, he was under the dresser."_

_"Why do you want me to meet you there?"_

_"Please."_

_"Fine. Where are you now?"_

_"I'm about half an hour away. Are you still at work?"_

_"I am just now leaving."_

_"I'll meet you at the house."_

_"Ok," she agrees._

_He hangs up the phone, as he pulls into the driveway of the house in Newark, on Oakmont street. He unlocks the door, and looks at the passenger in the backseat. The boy looks at the house. Castle gets out of the car. He opens the backdoor. Dominick unbuckles his seatbelt, and gets out. Castle closes the door behind him. _

_"Is there still a swing set?" he questions. _

_"Yeah," Castle nods, leading him to the gate. Castle follows the boy around the side of the house into the backyard. The young man races to the swing set. He takes a seat on the swing._

_"You remember the swing set?"_

_"I remember being here on this swing, and my mom pushing me."_

_"You do? Dominick you were taken on your second birthday."_

_"It must have been close to the, because she gave me a present."_

_"A fire-truck."_

_"You have a good memory."_

_"That is the only memory I have of her. I can see her face. I can hear her laughing, but I don't remember what her voice sounds like. I tried so hard, but I never could."_

_"Welcome home Dominick."_

_"Mister Castle?"_

_"You don't have to call me Mister."_

_"Castle. You must really love her."_

_"What makes you think that?"_

_"You found me. Technically you kidnapped me from a very powerful drug dealer. You could wind up in prison, or dead."_

_"That's ok."_


	9. It's Subtly That Strangles

_ She stands in the living room of a three bedroom house on Oakmont street, in Newark. She pulls out her phone. It rings twice before the party on the other end answers._

_"Castle you told me to meet you here where are you? I see your car in the driveway."_

_"Come outside."_

_"Outside?"_

_"I'm in the backyard," he explains._

_"Why?"_

_"Just hang up, and come out here," he insists._

_She hangs up, and stuffs the phone back into the pocket of her pants. She walks past the dining room table. She stops at the sliding glass door that rests between the dining room, and the kitchen. She unlocks the door, and slides it open. The screen door lays on the ground, outside. She steps outside, and slides the door closed behind her. She finds Castle sitting on a swing, just looking at her._

_"What are you doing out here? You're going to break the swing set, you're too big."_

_"I have a present for you."_

_"You told me that you found Sam. What's with the dramatic build up? I appreciate that you found it, but it is an inanimate object."_

_She stops in front of him._

_"I didn't really call you here about Sam," he admits._

_"I thought that you found him."_

_"I did, just not where I said that I did."_

_"Where did you find him?"_

_"In some kid's backpack."_

_She shakes her head, "You stole a toy from a child?"_

_"I am sure that it is the right one."_

_"Castle you shouldn't have done that."_

_"You shouldn't steal children, either, but I did."_

_She furrows her brow, "What are you talking about?"_

_"Sam had this address written on his tag, right?"_

_"How did you know that?"_

_"I stole the kid that he belongs to, he told me that."_

_"What?"_

_Castle points to a tree near the corner of the yard. She looks at the tree. She sees feet dangling over the edge of the branch. The foliage makes it impossible to see the rest of the child belonging to the pair of legs._

_"You kidnapped someone's kid? Castle I can't fix this."_

_The boy jumps from the branch, which is six feet off the ground. He lands on the ground. Kate turns her attention from Castle to the boy standing in front of the tree. _

_ Kate freezes. She stares at the boy standing thirty feet away from her. He holds onto a worn stuffed dog. Her heart skips a beat. He runs over to her, and hugs her tightly. She hugs him back, praying that she's not dreaming. Finally she lets go, and she scrutinizes him. His head is shaved. A pair of familiar hazel eyes stare up at her._

_"Dominick?"_

_Without a word he peels his shirt off. _

_"Buddy what are you doing?" Castle questions._

_Dominick drops his shirt on the ground. Kate stares at his left shoulder. _

_"Showing me his birthmark," she answers._

_"Oh."_

_Dominick pulls his shirt back on. He holds out his right hand, palm up. Kate studies the zig zag scar on the palm of his hand near his thumb._

_"I don't remember how I got it. I just know I always remember having it," he tells her._

_"When you were eighteen months old you were playing in the kitchen with a car. I was doing dishes. I dropped a glass. You tried to pick it up, and a piece of glass got embedded in your hand. I had to take you to the emergency room. You had to have six stitches."_

_"That wasn't in the report," Castle recalls._

_"I know," Kate responds._

_"You intentionally left it out," he realizes._

_"Yeah."_

_"Kate we should take him to your place."_

_"Why?"_

_"We're probably not safe here," Castle answers._

_"Why not?"_

_"It's a long story, but Kate it's time for you to come clean."_

_"Because he's home."_

_"Because I was right. Eric's cousin took him. And then Eric took him to Phoenix."_

_"Eric had him?"_

_"Eric represented the son of a drug kingpin. The son died in prison, and Miguel took Dominick as retribution."_

_"What?"_

_"I was in Phoenix earlier today that is why I didn't answer you."_

_"You stole him from a drug kingpin."_

_"What was I going to do, knock on the door, and ask to take him with me?"_

* * *

She opens her eyes, and looks around, at her surroundings. She finds herself asleep on the end of her bed. The light pouring in through the window tells her that it's mid-afternoon. She sits up as she hears footsteps. They grow closer, and closer. Castle appears in the doorway.

"I'm glad to see that you're awake from your nap."

"My nap? How long was I asleep?"

"You fell asleep about an hour ago, after we got back from Newark."

"So it was all a dream?"

"What was a dream?"

"You finding Dominick."

"Kate, I'm sorry, I didn't find him, yet. I am trying."

"Did you find anything?"

"No. I talked to Rebecca. She didn't take him."

"How do you know?"

"Because she has an airtight alibi."

"How airtight?"

"She was in the hospital. She had just given birth. Her husband was there too."

"I dreamt that they took him."

"You thought that they had him the whole time?"

"No, in my dream she took him to Eric. Then some drug dealer took Dominick from Eric."

"When was the last time that you spoke to Eric?"

"When I told him that I was pregnant."

"He never even saw Dominick?"

"No."

"Do you think that he took him?"

"I don't know. He didn't seem interested in being a parent."

"You're sure?"

"Wait in my dream it was Miguel Quinones."

"Is that name supposed to mean something to me?"

"No, but it means something to me."


	10. Responsible

"Enlighten me," Castle insists.

"I am the one who put him in prison."

"For life?"

"No," she shakes her head.

"Dreams are your subconscious telling you something," he points out.

"If it was him that means that my son is probably in a shallow grave somewhere, and that I'll never find him."

"What makes you say that?"

"Miguel wasn't a drug dealer."

"Did he have a son named Felix?"

"Yes. He blamed me for his death."

"Why?"

"Miguel was a single father. When he got sent to prison his mother took his son. Felix drowned in a pool when he was a fifteen months old. It was an accident, but he blamed me, because he thought if he had been there he could have stopped it. His mother was hard of hearing. She didn't hear Felix fall in the pool. She had run in the house to get a towel, not more than thirty feet away. She turned her back for a minute. She couldn't save him."

"Who did Miguel kill?"

"Felix's mother."

"Why do you think that Miguel took Dominick?"

"For revenge, but I don't even know if he was out of prison then."

"Why would Miguel want to take Dominick?"

"Because Dominick was close to Felix's age. He was about a year younger."

"Did he know that you had a son?"

"He asked to see me when his son died."

* * *

_She takes a seat in a small room, with a table, and two chairs. She looks at the criminal in front of her. He's got thick dark hair, and bright green eyes. He wears an orange jumpsuit, and chains._

_"I don't understand why I'm here. You didn't want to confess, earlier."_

_"I wanted to tell you something."_

_"Tell me what? The truth?"_

_"My son is dead. He is dead because you put me here. If I were out he would still be here."_

_"I'm sorry you feel that way."_

_"You don't get it do you? Can you imagine having your son ripped away from you? He was fifteen months old."_

_"I wouldn't want to."_

_"Detective do you have children?"_

_"Why am I here?"_

_"You do," he realizes, "A boy, or girl?"_

_"I did not come here to talk about me. You said that you wanted to confess."_

_"Tell me the truth, and call the D.A. I'll tell you everything."_

_"I have a son."_

_"What if you didn't, anymore?"_

_"Are you threatening me?"_

_"No I'm just asking."_

_"I wouldn't know what to do."_

_"My son was my whole world. What am I going to live for now? Huh? You took my freedom, and you took my son."_

_"I didn't do anything. You are the one who killed Felix's mother. You put yourself here."_

* * *

"Why did he kill the mother?"

"He caught her smoking crack."

"So he killed her?"

"She was in the backyard, and she had left Felix in the backseat of the car. It was the middle of July. Luckily he was only in the car for a few minutes before Miguel came home. He put Felix in his crib, and he went outside to talk to Emily. She had been clean for over two years. He was angry. They argued. He shoved her, and she hit her head on the table."

"It was an accident?"

"Then he picked up a brick, and he hit her with it over, and over again. He went in the house he washed his hands, packed a bag, and took Felix to his mother's house."

"What kind of a deal did he make with the D.A?"

"I don't know. I left before she got there. I went home to be with Dominick."

"We need to track this guy down."

"He's probably out by now."

"We should find out."

She shakes her head, "Castle this is my burden to carry, not yours."

"You have been carrying this one on your own long enough."

"I need to do this myself."

"Which is you saying that I need to back off."

"Yes," she nods.

"Ok. I can respect that."

"Thank you."

"Can I ask you something unrelated to murder?"

"Yes."

"Something you said has been bothering me."

"About what?"

"That you spent every Christmas since you were a rookie at the precinct. What about after you had Dominick?"

"His first Christmas he was only a couple of months old. Unfortunately it was actually my turn to work."

"And his second Christmas?"

"I got up with him on Christmas morning to open presents early, and then my dad picked him up, and took him to the cabin."

"So you didn't spend Christmas with him?"

"I picked him up after I got off work, and we played with all of his toys. He was perfectly happy with my dad."

"What were you planning to do when he got older, and was big enough to realize you were gone?"

She shrugs, "I don't know."

"I mean how would you explain suddenly not working on Christmas?"

"I would have come up with something. Are you questioning what kind of parent I was?"

"No that wasn't it at all."

"Then what was it?"

"I don't know."

"Castle if you have something to say, then just say it."

"I understand why you would want to work on Christmas, now."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't imagine not spending Christmas with my kid, and if she weren't with me..." he trails off.


	11. Square One

He doesn't ask her what she finds out about Miguel Quinones. Instead he decides to let it go. She returns to work the following day, and refuses to talk about it. The box returns to its previous spot in the closet. He watches her day, by day as she tries to continue her normal life. Now he can see the brokenness inside of her. A brokenness he once attributed to her losing her mother at such a young age he realizes, that it was only half of the story. He's sitting across the table from her, that night, in his kitchen, as they eat dinner. His eyes fall on the watch on her wrist. He swallows his food, and then clears his throat.

"You wear a necklace close to your heart that has your mother's wedding rings on it. You wear your father's watch on your wrist. What about Dominick?"

She looks up from her plate, at his abrupt question.

"Those are things that I take off at some point before I go to sleep," she answers.

"I don't understand. What do you have that belongs to Dominick that you carry with you?"

"My tattoo," she answers.

"Your tattoo? I don't understand. It is such an odd choice for a girl," he adds, "I have never understood it."

"Why haven't you asked."

"I was trying to come up with a story behind it, but I couldn't. What kind of a woman gets a warrior tattooed on her shoulder blade?"

"The kind of woman who had a son who was taken from her when he was two years old. A son whose name was Dominick Alexander."

"Like Alexander the great?"

She nods, "Like a warrior."

"So you got a tattoo of a warrior, for him?"

"Yes."

"And that is something that you can't take off."

"Exactly."

"Other people have seen it before."

"Yes."

"What do you tell them?"

"I lie. I tell them that I was drunk, and it was a prank."

"Which, I'm guessing couldn't be farther from the truth."

"I got it on his third birthday."

"The anniversary of his disappearance? You always said you got it in college."

"I lied. I didn't want to deal with the questions."

"Kate why do you think whoever took him from you chose his birthday? Do you think that they knew it was his birthday, or that it was just a coincidence?"

"I wish that I knew. I wish I had the answers, but I don't."

"You haven't made any progress?"

"Miguel Quinones was still in prison the day that Dominick was taken."

"When did he get out?"

"Six months later."

"So he probably wasn't involved."

"Probably not, which means that I am back at square one."

"Not exactly," he argues.

"What do you mean?"

"We know that whoever did it had to return to the crime scene to retrieve the dog."

"But we don't know when."

"We could check for fingerprints, maybe they weren't as careful the second time."

"I already did. The only fingerprints belonged to me, you, or my dad."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah."

"We know that he came through the window the first time."

"And?"

"Did he break the window?"

"No."

"Did you notice any evidence of damage on the window this time?"

"No."

"So you're saying that it was unlikely he came through the window."

"Castle there was no evidence that the window was tampered with when Dominick was taken."

"What do you mean?"

"They thought that the window was unlocked, that he had opened it from the outside."

"Was there a screen?"

"It was laying on the ground outside."

"So whoever it was removed the screen, and then what?"

"Whoever it was opened the window to make it look like he came through the window."

"I can't imagine that it would be easy to carry a two year old down a ladder from a second story window, even if he was asleep."

"Then how did he get in, and out?"

"Are you certain that the window was locked?"

"I checked it every single day before I left for work."

"And you dad wouldn't have opened it?"

"Dominick was feeling sick, he wouldn't have opened it."

"So the perp had to open it."

"Yes."

"How did he get in the house? Is there another entrance?"

"The front door, and the sliding glass door."

"That's it?"

"Yes. The house didn't have an attic, or a basement."

"So he had to go out through the sliding glass door. If he went through the front door your dad would have seen him."

"My dad was probably watching baseball."

"It's possible that he didn't hear someone in the house."

"Yes."

"Maybe the sliding glass door was unlocked."

"That is possible."

"So who would know that your dad may have left the sliding glass door unlocked, and that he would be watching baseball?"

"I don't know."

"Why did he pick that neighborhood? It is a middle class neighborhood. It doesn't suit your dad's tastes at all."

"He picked it for me, not for himself."

"But he was living there, right?"

"He liked the quiet. He didn't plan on staying there, it was just the way that it worked out."

"It was a nice neighborhood? Low crime?"

"Almost no crime, aside from the occasional B and E, or domestic dispute. Nothing out of the ordinary."


	12. Going Home, Again

"They talked to the neighbors?"

"They talked to the entire block. No one knew anything. No one saw, or heard anything."

"Kate could it have been one of the neighbors?"

"I don't know," she shrugs, "It could have been anyone."

"But who would know your dad's routine? Maybe someone was watching him."

"Castle can we talk about something else?"

"How are you not consumed by all of this?"

"I am, but I don't like talking about it. I don't like thinking about it. I don't like considering the fact that I may never see him again."

"I know you don't, but I am just hoping we can find something that will help us find him."

"I know."

"Did you have a babysitter? Someone had to watch Dominick when your dad was at work, right?"

"Yes, Holly."

"Holly, she sounds twelve."

"She was twenty three. She had been an intern at my dad's law firm."

"Where was she?"

"She was in class."

"Class?"

"She was in law school. Her classes were in the evenings. She scheduled them that way so she could work."

"Why did she want to be a nanny? She could have continued her internship with your dad, right?"

"The internship was unpaid."

"She couldn't get a paid internship?"

"She needed the money for school, so my dad offered her the job. She was great with Dominick."

"She would have been able to keep him from crying."

"She was in class Castle."

"They checked her alibi?"

"Castle she didn't take him."

"How do you know?"

"Because I thought the same thing that you're thinking now. A nanny gets attached to the child she takes care of. The mom is single, and works long hours. Maybe she thought that I was doing something wrong, or I wasn't spending enough time with him, and so she took him."

"Exactly."

"Except I followed her around for three days. She didn't have him."

"How do you know?"

"Because she dropped off his car seat the next day. When she heard what happened she came over, without anyone. She went to class."

"Did she get another job?"

"A couple of weeks later."

"A nanny job?"

"An internship."

"You are certain she didn't take him?"

"If she did he's not alive."

Castle shoots her a questioning look, "She didn't take him, period."

"How do you know?"

"I am a cop."

"And?"

"I had a GPS tracker on her phone that she didn't know about. The day Dominick was taken she was on campus. Hours before, during, and after."

"Maybe she knew, and gave someone her phone."

"My dad bought her a GPS for her car for Christmas so that she wouldn't get lost if she had Dominick in the car."

"So you were tracking her car too?"

"I ran a background check on her, before I let her watch him. Her car was parked outside of the school for hours. She didn't do it."

"You trusted her?"

"I wanted to."

"Did she do something to make you distrust her?"

"No. I just didn't trust anyone with my son, but me."

"Oh."

"Oh, what?"

"That's what this is about? That is why you don't want to talk about it."

"What do you mean?"

"You don't want to talk about it, because you feel responsible. He wasn't with you. You knew he was safe when he was with you. Kate this wasn't your fault."

"Saying it doesn't make me believe it."

"What will?"

"Nothing," she blinks away tears, as she leaves the table.

He watches her leave the room. She leaves the apartment. He cringes as he hears the door slam.

Outside, she gets into her car, and leaves. She doesn't drive home. Instead she gets on the turnpike. She heads to Newark. She finds herself parked outside an empty house. She sits inside of the car, parked in the driveway. She stares at the empty house. The key is still in the ignition, the door is closed, and the engine is off. She looks through the windshield at the house. She takes a deep breath, and removes her seat belt. She takes the key out of the ignition, and exits the car.

She heads over to the chain link fence. The gate squeaks as she pushes it open. She closes it behind her. She walks around the side of the house. She stops in the backyard as she approaches the swing set. She looks at the empty swing set, with a sense of longing. She moves from the spot in the grass that she's standing. She goes over to the swing set, and plants herself in one of the swings. She looks to her left, as she faces the house. The baby swing rests next to her. She looks at the swing she's sitting on. The big boy swing she put up days before Dominick disappeared, because he refused to ride in the baby swing any longer. Not even two yet, and he was already trying to grow up too fast.

She shudders at the thought of how grown up he would be now. Five years later that chubby two year old would be a tall, athletic seven year old. A second grader, who was probably missing teeth. She looks up at the house. She can see Dominick's bedroom window from her spot on the swings. She hears rustling behind her. She turns, and looks. She sees a neighbor kid in the yard behind her. He stops, dead in his tracks.

"I'm shouldn't be here, I know," he begins to apologize.

"It's ok. What's your name?"

"Calvin. Are you the lady who used to live here?"

"Yeah. How old are you Calvin?"

"Eleven," he answers.

"I see."

"I know that I'm not supposed to come over here, but I have four brothers and sisters. I just want some peace, and quiet sometimes. I come over here, and swing, by myself. I hope you don't mind."


	13. Something Personal

"I don't mind. I am glad someone is getting use out of this swing set."

"What's your name? You didn't say."

"Kate."

"Nice to meet you."

"Calvin, where do you live?"

"Three houses down," he answers.

"I think that we've met before. You used to ride your bike on the sidewalk in front of the house."

"Yeah."

"So how long have you been coming here?" she wonders.

"Since you moved out."

"Five years?"

"I guess."

"That's a long time."

"Did you ever find your son?"

"No," she shakes her head.

"He was like, two, right?"

"Yeah, it was his birthday."

"We saw him with his grandpa that morning. They were out front getting the newspaper. Did they ever find out who took him?"

"No, Calvin they didn't."

"What about the green car, did they ever find out who was driving it?"

Kate furrows her brow, "Green car, what are you talking about?"

"There was a green car parked outside that day."

"For how long?"

"I noticed it when I got home from school."

"How old were you?"

"I was six."

"Did you tell someone that you saw a green car?"

"Yeah, but what cop listens to a six year old?"

"Do you know what it looked like? Two doors, or four?"

"I don't know, but wait here."

"Ok."

He races away, towards his house. Minutes later he returns. He climbs over the fence, and launches himself into the back yard. He approaches the swing set. She gets off the swing, and allows him to sit down. He reaches into the pocket of his pants, and pulls out a piece of notebook paper. He hands it to her. She unfolds the shred of paper. She looks at the numbers written in blue marker.

"My mom watches a lot of cop shows, she always has. She was watching one that night, she didn't notice the car, but I did. I wrote down the license plate number."

"You're sure that this car was parked outside the house?"

"Yeah, but the cop told me to be quiet. He didn't want to hear what I had to say. I went back to my room. I put this in a safe place, so that I knew where it was, in case someone ever asked."

"Thank you."

"Oh, and to answer your question it was a Honda, two doors, a Civic, I think."

"Thank you Calvin. You have been really helpful."

"No problem."

"Enjoy the swing."

She carries the piece of paper back to her car. She stops off at the precinct, even though it's late. She enters the plate number, and make and model of the car, alongside the date. She stares at the page in disbelief.

"What are you doing?" A voice from behind questions.

"Nothing," she answers.

Javier furrows his brow, "Beckett why are you looking at a report on a stolen car from five years ago?"

"It's a long story. What are you still doing here?"

"I have a mountain of paperwork to do. I have to get it finished by morning, or I'll be held in contempt."

"Oh."

"So why are you so interested in this car?"

"It's just part of a case I'm working on."

"What case?"

"An old case," she stretches the truth.

"Anyway I can help?"

"No."

"Are you sure? You want me to see if I can track down the car?"

"No. You can't."

"I can try."

"They found the car alongside the New Jersey turnpike. Someone torched it."

"Maybe you could talk to the former owner."

"I doubt that it would help."

"Still worth a shot."

"Yeah."

"You know, Beckett you've been awfully quiet lately, are you sure that everything is ok?"

"Fine."

He pulls up a chair next to her desk. He looks her in the eye, "Kate what's going on?"

"You wouldn't understand," she insists.

"Try me."

"It's just that I hate cases that I can't close."

"We all have cases that haunt us. What has happened to bring this on all of the sudden?"

"It isn't all of the sudden," she admits.

"Oh?"

"It was the fifth anniversary of the case."

"What case was it?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Why do I have a feeling that this personal?"

"Because they always are," she answers as she shoves her chair away from the desk. She grabs her phone off the desk, and leaves the squad room. He watches her head down the hallway. His eyes fall on her as she gets onto the elevator. The look on her face tells him that it is something serious, despite the fact that she refuses to make eye contact with him. He watches as the elevator doors close. He turns his attention to her computer screen. He looks over at his own desk, and is reminded of his mountain of paperwork. He returns to his desk to finish the task at hand. As he works on eliminating the stack of papers from his desk he can't stop thinking about the look on her face.


	14. Insight

_ September 12th, 2008-_

_Kate exits the squad room, and makes a beeline to her desk. She tries to make it to her seat without being noticed. She stares at the phone on her desk, feeling completely numb. She blinks, willing it to ring. She needs it to ring. A case involving murder, someone else's tragedy is the only thing that will take her mind off her own situation. She needs to be here, to throw herself into her work, because she knows that it is the only thing that is going to keep her hanging on. She hears footsteps, and she looks up, removing her focus from the telephone sitting on her desk in silence. She sees Javi standing next to her desk. He furrows his brow as he looks at her._

_"What?!" she questions._

_"I was just trying to figure out why you took three days off in the middle of the week. What gives?"_

_"I don't want to talk about it."_

_"Don't want to talk about it? Beckett you never take time off, what's going on?"_

_"Don't," she begs._

_He looks into her eyes. He sees pain staring back at him. He nods understandingly._

_"Ok, but if you do want to talk about it, I'm here for you."_

* * *

As he sits in the precinct squad room until the wee hours of the night, he finds himself staring at Beckett's desk more than a handful of times. Finally before sunrise he finishes his paperwork. He heads into the break room to start some coffee. He's spent most of the night distracted by Kate's odd behavior. He tries to recall other times that she has exhibited such odd behavior. As he reaches in the cabinet for a snack he is reminded of one of those instances.

* * *

_May 8th, 2006-_

_ Javier heads towards the break room. He stops in the doorway. He watches as Kate as she reaches into the cabinet onto the top shelf for a snack. Her back is to the door. She grabs the snack cake out of the box, and turns around. Javier looks at her in silence. He looks down at his watch, for a second, and then looks up at her._

_"Beckett it is three o'clock in the morning, and you're eating a fudge round?"_

_"Do you have a problem with that?"_

_"We have been working for twenty one hours, so not entirely."_

_"Then, why are you bringing it up?" she cocks her eyebrow._

_"Look, I don't want you to take this the wrong way," he begins to explains._

_"Javi, if you have something to say, just spit it out."_

_"I noticed that you've been snacking a lot lately. And it's always things that you don't usually eat."_

_"Is there a question, or an accusation in there somewhere?"_

_"No."_

_"A point?"_

_"Like I said I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but you've put on a few pounds."_

_"Wow!"_

_"Beckett I'm just trying to look out for you. Burgers, and Little Debbie cakes at three o'clock in the morning are not good for your health."_

_"Javi don't worry about me."_

_He scowls at her. She leans against the counter as she unwraps her snack cake. He notices that most of her weight gain is centralized to one area. He glances at her stomach, and then looks away, praying that she didn't see him._

* * *

Beckett is the first person to arrive that morning. She takes a seat at her desk. Javier takes a seat on the edge of her desk. She looks up at him.

She furrows her brow, "What are you doing?"

"I need to talk to you," he answers.

"About what?"

"In private."

"About what?"

"In the break room," he explains.

She follows him into the break room. He closes the door behind her. She folds her arms across her chest.

"What is this about?"

"Beckett after I talked to you last night I couldn't stop wondering what is going on with you."

"I thought that I told you to drop it."

"But I'm a detective. I detect. It is my job."

"You shouldn't be detecting anything about me. If I want you to know something I will tell you."

"Do you remember seven years ago when I told you that you were putting on weight?"

"Vaguely. Why are you asking?"

"I didn't say it then, because I didn't want you to hurt me, but I thought that you were pregnant. And then in the fall you took some time off, like a month. I hoped that I was wrong. I told myself it was because of the case we caught that the end of August. It really took a toll on all of us. It wasn't, was it?"

"Espo why are you bringing this up?"

"Because I am worried about you."

"Don't be."

"And I need to apologize."

"For what?"

"Not being a better friend. I am sorry I didn't push harder. I wish that I had made you tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"Kate I know that I crossed a line, but I didn't have a choice."

She furrows her brow, "What did you do?"

"I looked at vital statistics for the month of September two thousand and six. Kate why didn't you tell me that you had a son?"

"I am not going to talk about this with you. Not here, not now."

"We are going to talk about this," he argues.

"You don't understand."

"No, I don't understand Kate. You never admitted to any of us that you had a kid. You didn't put a picture on your desk, or explain your leave of absence. You never mentioned it. I can't understand why you wouldn't tell any of us, we're your co-workers, and I thought we were your friends."

"Please, just stop," she begs.

"The car was stolen the day of your son's second birthday."

"I know."

"What connection does it have to his disappearance?"

"What?!"

"What's the connection? Kate I read the missing person's report."

"It was parked outside my house that day, but nobody noticed, except for a six year old boy, that no one wanted to listen to."

"Kate your son was kidnapped. You came to work three days later. Why? Why didn't you say something? We could have helped you find him."

"How? There was no evidence. There was no forensic evidence. Nobody saw, or heard anything. It was like my son disappeared off the face of the planet. How could you have helped me?"

"I would have been there for you, if nothing else."

"I can't talk about this anymore."

"I'm not going to tell anyone, I am just trying to understand."

She clenches her jaw, and swallows hard in an attempt to stave off tears, "Javi, there are a lot of things in this world that I am never going to understand."


	15. Iron Gates

_ Captain Gates comes out of her office. She stops at Kate's desk. She looks up, and finds Javier working on his computer. _

_"Esposito?"_

_He looks up from the screen at his superior, "Yes, sir?"_

_"Where is Beckett?"_

_"She is working on a case," he reminds her._

_"Where?"_

_"She is in the Bronx talking to the family of the victim, why?"_

_"Why? Her phone has been ringing incessantly for the past ten minutes," as the words fall from her mouth the phone ceases to ring._

_"Ten minutes? Sir it has been ringing for an hour."_

_"And you didn't think to answer it?"_

_He shakes his head, "Are you kidding me? She would kill me if I answered her phone."_

_"What if it is an emergency?"_

_"The dead don't use the telephone."_

_The phone begins to ring again. The Captain looks at it in frustration. She takes a deep breath, and answers the phone._

_"Detective Beckett's phone, this is Captain Gates, you've reached the twelfth precinct how can I help you?"_

_"I need to talk to detective Beckett."_

_"May I ask who is calling?"_

_"Nick."_

_"Nick why are you calling detective Beckett?"_

_"I need her help," he explains. _

_"Her help, with what? Are you a witness to a homicide?"_

_"No."_

_"I am not sure how she can help you. Nick, detective Beckett is a homicide detective."_

_"I know that. Please don't hang up," he begs._

_"Nick how old are you?"_

_"I'm seven."_

_"You sound upset. Can you tell me what happened?"_

_"I need her to come get me."_

_"Come get you? Nick does she know you? Are you in some sort of danger?"_

_"You don't understand," he shrieks._

_"Explain it to me," Gates responds in a calm tone._

_"I was kidnapped."_

_"Kidnapped? When? From where? Why are you calling detective Beckett?"_

_"Years ago. I found her card inside my stuffed animal."_

_"Her card? Why did she give you her card?"_

_"She's my mom."_

_"Your mom?"_

_"Please come get me. I want to come home. I need you to hurry. He'll be home soon."_

_"Who will be home soon?"_

_"The guy who took me. I am with the babysitter right now. I'm in my room, she's watching TV. He'll be home in an hour."_

_"Nick where are you?"_

_"Queens."_

_"Can you give me an address?"_

_"17th Street. It's 1093 17th Street Queens."_

_"Ok. I am going to come get you. Just stay where you are, ok?"_

_"Ok."_

_"Do you want me to stay on the line?"_

_"Just come get me."_

_"Ok," she hangs up. She looks over at Javier._

_"Esposito I need you to come with me."_

_"Sir where are we going?"_

_"I just got off the phone with a kid who claims to be Beckett's son. He says that he's been kidnapped, and he found her card in one of his stuffed animals. I am fairly certain it is just some kid pulling a prank, since Beckett doesn't have a kid, but we should go check it out, I guess."_

_"I'll drive."_

_They climb into the car. As he pulls away from the precinct Gates looks over at him. She notices how fast he is driving, and how nervous he looks as she tells him the address._

_"Detective Esposito is there something that you want to tell me?"_

_"What was the kid's name?" he questions._

_"Nick."_

_"As in Dominick?"_

_Gates furrows her brow, "I don't know I didn't ask, why?"_

_He flips on his sirens, "I don't think that it was a prank, and the fact that we're going all the way to Queens tells me that you don't either."_

_"You're right, but it doesn't mean that he's being truthful about the situation, either."_

_"What makes you say that?"_

_"Beckett doesn't have a son."_

_"Captain, her son is seven."_

_"What?!"_

_"He was taken when from her on his second birthday."_

_"Why don't I know about this?"_

_"I just found out myself. Apparently it's not something that she talks about."_

_"Who took her son?"_

_"She doesn't know, that's why she's never found him."_

_"Do you really think that this is him?" she questions._

_"It almost feels too easy, but I really hope that it is."_

_ Javier parks on the street several minutes later, in a residential neighborhood. He, and Gates get out of the car. They walk down the sidewalk towards their destination. They draw their weapons, expecting to have to break down door. Esposito shoots his captain a questioning look as she holsters her weapon. She takes another step towards the porch._

_"Gates what are you doing?"_

_She points to the porch. Javier looks up, and finds a boy sitting on the porch swing, holding a stuffed animal. He holsters his weapon, and they step onto the porch. Gates pulls out her badge. _

_"I am Captain Gates, this is detective Esposito. We received a call from here earlier. We are looking for Nick, or Dominick."_


	16. Stranger Than Fiction

_"Where is detective Beckett?" he responds._

_Javier approaches the boy, "She's at a crime scene. We didn't think she could make it here in time."_

_The boy hands Javier Kate's business card. Her name is crossed out. In her handwriting, in permanent marker the word, mom, is written. The boy is wearing a pair of jeans, and Yankees jersey. He's got bright hazel eyes, and curly hair. _

_"Last night I ripped the seam on my dog. I found this inside," the young man explains, "I just want to go home."_

_"Home?" Esposito questions._

_"My name is Dominick. Please take me to my mom. I only have one memory of her. I really just want to see her," he begins to sniffle. _

_Captain Gates steps forward. She reaches for the boy who has begun to cry. She smiles at him._

_"Let's take you to her," she offers._

_He nods, and she lifts him off the porch swing. They head to the car. Dominick climbs into the back seat. _

_"Dominick who took you?" Gates questions._

_"His name is Gabriel Fuller. He'll be home in thirty seven minutes," Dominick explains as he looks at the clock in the dash of the car._

_"Where is he now?"_

_"At work. He is a lawyer. He works for Rigsby, Fuller, and Graham," he reveals._

_Gates looks over at Esposito, "Have uniforms pick Mister Fuller up from work, and bring him in for questioning."_

_Javier nods, and grabs his phone, as he dials Gates looks at the boy._

_"Dominick where is your babysitter?"_

_"She fell asleep in front of the TV. It's Gabriel's mother. She's in her seventies."_

_Javier hang up the phone. He looks over at his boss._

_"What do you want to do, sir?"_

_"Lets take him back to the precinct. I'll call Lanie, and have her meet us to do a DNA swab to confirm his identity, and then we'll call Beckett."_

_ Lanie enters Captain Gate's office. She sets her bag on the captain's desk. Dominick sits patiently in the captain's chair. _

_"Captain Gates I got your message."_

_The captain looks at her, "I need you to do a cheek swab on this young man."_

_"Ok," she nods._

_"I would like you to compare it to the missing person's database."_

_"You know that a match can take a while," Parrish points out._

_"I need you to compare the DNA from a kidnapping in New Jersey in September of two thousand and eight."_

_"Ok," Lanie agrees as she pulls the swab out of her bag. _

_She approaches the boy. She smiles at him, "I am going to need you to open up. I just need to swab the inside of your cheek."_

_"Ok," he nods, and opens wide. Lanie collects the DNA sample, and caps the swab._

_"I'll need you to compare his DNA to the DNA taken from Dominick Beckett's toothbrush."_

_"Beckett?" Lanie questions._

_"Yes. Make it your priority. I want you to go right to the lab, and run it."_

_"Ok," Lanie agrees, sensing the urgency in her voice._

_Javier knocks on the door. Captain Gates motions him in. _

_"I just wanted you to know that uniforms picked up Gabriel Fuller. They are on their way here now."_

_"Thanks," she smiles. _

_Javier leaves the room, and she turns her attention to the seven year old boy sitting in her seat. _

_"Dominick why did you call the precinct today?"_

_"I just found the card inside my stuffed animal last night."_

_"You knew that you were abducted?"_

_"Yes ma'am," he nods._

_"How?"_

_"Because I remember my mom. I remember playing on the swing in my backyard. I woke up one night, and I wasn't there anymore. I was with a stranger, and I just wanted to go home. I didn't even have Sam."_

_"Sam?"_

_Dominick holds up his ratty stuffed dog._

_"The dog. I can't sleep without him. It seemed like it was years before I got him back."_

_"Got him back? How did you get him back?"_

_"Gabriel went back to the house one night, when no one was there, and took him."_

_"How did you find that card?"_

_"I already told you. I ripped the seam on my dog. He's seven years old. I sleep with him every single night."_

_"He's falling apart."_

_"He lost his left eye years ago. When the seam ripped last night I thought for sure Gabriel would make me throw him out. He said I was too old to sleep with a stuffed animal. He was in such a hurry for work this morning that he didn't notice."_

_"Why aren't you in school?"_

_"Teacher in-service day. I noticed that Sam had a lump in him, a long time ago. I didn't know her card was there. When the seam ripped last night, I found it. It was folded up into fourths."_

_"How many times did you call that number?"_

_"A lot. I stopped counting. I thought if I kept calling that she would have to answer. Where is she?"_

_"She'll be here."_

_"I always knew something was wrong."_

_"Do you remember him taking you?"_

_"No."_

_"How did you know that you were kidnapped?"_

_"He was going to get married. I was five. I overheard an argument that they had."_

_"What kind of an argument?"_

_"She said she couldn't trust someone who had stolen a child."_

_"She knew?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Why didn't she come forward?"_

_"I never saw her again. I think he did something to her."_

_"Dominick you are only seven how can you know all of this?"_

_"I pay attention."_

_The phone on Victoria's desk rings. She grabs the receiver and puts it to her ear._

_"Gates," she answers._

_"The DNA is a match. It's him."_

_"Thank you doctor Parrish," she hangs up the phone._


	17. Broken Pieces

_ Beckett enters the squad room with Castle. Ryan heads to his desk to look up some information on the computer. Esposito meets Kate at her desk._

_"The captain wants to see you," he informs her._

_Kate rolls her eyes, "What did I do now?"_

_"It's not about something you did."_

_"What did Castle do?" she queries._

_"I am right here, and I resent that," Castle growls._

_"It's about something Gates did. She wants to show you something."_

_"Oh, ok," Kate nods. _

_She heads to her boss's office. She finds that the blinds are drawn so that no one can see in. She knocks on the door. _

_"Come in," Victoria responds._

_Kate opens the door, and steps in. She finds her captain sitting on the wrong side of the desk. Kate furrows her brow._

_"Why are you sitting over here?" she wonders as she looks at Gates' office chair. _

_"I have something I need to share with you," the captain reveals._

_Kate stares at the chair behind the desk, that faces the wall, instead of the door._

_"Esposito said that you needed to talk to me about something. What's going on?"_

_"First of all, I know that I am not the most approachable person, but there are some things I should know about."_

_"Okay," she nods in agreement._

_"And second of all, if I am ever blindsided like this again I will have your badge."_

_"Blindsided? What are you talking about?"_

_"I received a very interesting call today."_

_"About what?"_

_"Actually you were supposed to receive it, but you were in the field."_

_"You answered my phone?"_

_Victoria vacates her seat. She nods, "And I would do it again. I am going to leave you alone."_

_"Alone, what are you talking about? Why are you leaving me alone in your office? Is this some sort of punishment?"_

_"Far from it. I just thought you would want some privacy."_

_"Privacy, for what?" Kate quizzes as Victoria quickly approaches the door._

_"Why don't you ask him?" Victoria points to the back of the chair as she grips the door handle. Kate turns to look at the chair. She hears the door to the office open, and close. She stares at the chair in utter confusion. She takes a deep breath, and spins the chair around. A seven year old boy stares up at her, with a smile. Before she can react he ends the silence. He hops out of the chair. He springs forward, and wraps his arms around her._

_"Mom!"_

_ Without a second thought she wraps her arms around him. She has no success at her attempt to keep her tears from falling. They fall freely, and roll down her cheeks. After several moments she lets go of him. He takes a step back. She touches his blonde curls. She just stares at him in complete amazement. He stares at the watch on her wrist in silence. She holds her arm out. He touches it with his right hand. She touches his hand. He smiles, and flips it palm up. She stares at the scar near his thumb. _

_"How did you get here?"_

_"I found your card."_

_"My card?"_

_"It was in Sam."_

_Kate smiles, "I forgot about sewing that into him."_

_"Why did you put it there?"_

_"The seam ripped. When I went to sew it up I thought about you, and that stupid dog. You couldn't live without it. So I sewed the card inside of it, just in case anything ever happened to you."_

_He just stares at her. "Your hair is longer than I remember."_

_"You remember me?" she replies, totally astonished._

_"I remember you pushing me on a swing in the backyard."_

_"I missed you so much," she admits._

_"I missed you more," he argues._

_"I am so glad you're here."_

_"I kept calling, and calling you, but you didn't answer."_

_"I am so sorry."_

_"Captain Gates finally answered your phone. She came and got me."_

_"You're ok?"_

_"Can we go home?"_

_"Let me just talk to captain Gates for a minute, and we can go."_

_Kate exits the office. She finds Victoria waiting outside._

_"Lanie was able to confirm with DNA," she explains._

_"I can't believe he just called here, and you went and found him."_

_"He told me where he was."_

_"Who took him?"_

_"Gabriel Fuller. He is in custody now."_

_"Gabriel Fuller?"_

_"You know him?"_

_"I investigated his wife's murder. We thought he did it, but it ended up that it wasn't him."_

_"So he took your son?"_

_"We never caught the guy who murdered his wife, or took his son."_

_"Took his son?"_

_"His son was barely two. Dominick was only a few months old at the time. While I was interviewing Gabriel he asked me how old my kid was, because he noticed the spit up on my shirt."_

_"I am going to handle his interrogation myself, if that's okay with you."_

_"Fine by me."_

_"Then why are you still standing here?"_

_"Sir?"_

_"Take your kid home. We can deal with the rest later. You have waited five years six days, eight hours, and nine minutes for this day. Take your son home."_

_"Thank you, sir."_

_"Now, go!"_

_Kate nods. She returns to the office. She finds Dominick waiting on her. _

_"Are you ready to go home?"_

_"Yeah," he nods._

_She offers him her hand. He places his seven year old hand in hers, and she leads him out of the office. She dials her phone as she gets into the elevator. _

_"Katie?"_

_"Dad hey I need you to meet me in Newark."_

_"Newark? What's going on?"_

_"Meet me at the house, and I'll explain everything."_

_"When?"_

_"It's five o'clock now, so seven."_


	18. Cracking Gates

She jerks into consciousness. She finds herself in a dark room. It takes her a moment to adjust to her surroundings. She is alone, in her own bed. She reaches over, and flips on the light. She glances at the clock. She sits up on the side of the bed wondering how her mind can play such tricks on her. Her dreams bring her son back to her, and her waking hours bring the pain. She yawns as she turns off the light, realizing that it is too early to get up for the day. She rolls back over, fully aware of the fact that sleep will not return to her. When her alarm clock goes off she crawls out of bed.

When she arrives at work she makes a beeline for her captain's office. She closes the door behind her. Victoria sits at her desk, staring at the detective in confusion as she takes a seat in front of her.

"Beckett to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Sir, I need some time off."

"How much time, and for what?"

"I am going to need a leave of absence."

"A leave of absence? For what?"

"It is a long story."

"It's early in the day," Gates replies.

"There is a case that I need to close," she begins to explain.

"And you want to take a leave of absence to do it?"

"It is complicated."

"If you expect me to grant you a leave of absence then you need to explain."

"People keep secrets."

"And?"

"Even cops, good cops."

"You're telling me that you have a secret?"

"Yes," she confirms.

"Is it effecting your job performance?"

"As much as I wish that I could say it isn't, it is."

"So tell me what is this secret."

"I thought that I could handle it. I really thought that I would figure out a way to keep it from effecting my work."

"You couldn't?"

"I don't think that anyone could."

"So tell me, what is your secret?"

"I have a seven year old son."

"What?! I have never heard you mention a kid. Castle has never mentioned that you have kid, and he has a big mouth."

"Because," she swallows hard, "My son was abducted when he was two years old. He was taken from his bed. He was kidnapped on his second birthday. Until the past weeks I never told anyone. I never confirmed to my co-workers that I had a son. They didn't ask, and I didn't tell."

"Why not?"

"I didn't want the wrong person to find out. I didn't want a suspect to use my son as leverage. I didn't want them to see him as a pawn they could use for retribution."

"You should have told me."

"Sir, I am sorry, it is just incredibly difficult for me to talk about. I just recently told Castle."

"You want time off so that you can find your son?"

"There were no leads then. It turns out that there was something the investigating officers missed. I need time to pursue it. I don't know how long it is going to take. I may never find him, or who took him, but not knowing..." she trails off.

"It's been eating at you?"

"For five years. I can't take it anymore. It is killing me. Every single day I wake up, and I realize that I have to spend another day without my son. I have to go to bed each night knowing that I will probably dream about finding him, only to wake up in the middle of the night, and realize that he is still gone. I have solved a lot of cases, but I can't solve my own son's. What kind of a cop does that make me?"

"Every cop needs help."

"I need to do this for myself."

"But you don't have to do it by yourself."

"I won't ask anyone to help me. I don't expect any time or resources from anyone here. I just need some time."

"Let me help you."

"Sir, that isn't necessary."

"You would do the same for me."

"It is not your responsibility."

"You know I am due for some vacation time. I could burn a couple of days. I'll help you."

"I am not asking you to."

"We have two very different perspectives. It might help to have a different perspective, a fresh pair of eyes."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

"You know it's weird that you are volunteering for this."

"Detective Beckett I am not as cold hearted as everyone thinks that I am."

"I didn't mean it like that."

"What did you mean?" Victoria cocks an eyebrow.

"In the dream I had last night you were the one who found him."

"Then let's make your dream come true."

"In my dreams he is always perfect, and nothing bad has happened to him, other than being ripped away from me. What if that isn't the case?"

"Don't think like that."

"What am I supposed to think? I know the statistics, I know the odds."

"Just think, that you're going to bring him home."

She exhales, "But what if it's in a box?" Her bottom lip quivers.

"We'll find him."

She looks at her boss. For the first time she sees past her captain's cold exterior. She tries to calm down, and allow herself to be reassured. Beckett reaches into the pocket of her blazer. She pulls out a picture. She places it on the surface of the desk. She looks at it for a brief moment, and then slides it across the desk to the captain.

Victoria turns the picture so it is right side up. She stares at the face of a toddler. He smiles widely as he sits at the bottom of a plastic, yellow slide. He has beautiful curls, and hazel eyes. He looks like Kate.


	19. Let Me In

She enters her apartment, locking the door behind her. She places her keys, gun, badge, and phone on the counter. Her phone vibrates. She looks at the caller I.D, and hits ignore. All she wants is to take a hot shower, and go to bed, despite the fact that she knows sleep will not come easily. The knock on the door ruins this fantasy. She looks through the peephole. She hesitates to answer. She contemplates remaining silent, in hopes that he will go away.

"Kate I know you're in there, open the door, please."

She unlocks the door, pulling it open. He steps inside with a paper bag in one hand, and a bottle of wine in the other. He places the goods on the counter, and looks at her. He smiles at her.

"I brought ice cream, and wine."

"I'm not in the mood."

"For ice cream?"

"For this," she admits.

"For us?"

"I am tired I just want to go to bed. I am sorry, but I just want to be alone."

"So you can self-destruct?" He queries.

"I am fine."

"No, you're not. I saw you in Gates' office earlier."

"I don't want to talk about that."

"It seems to me like you don't want to talk about anything," he argues.

She takes a seat on a bar stool, on the other side of the counter. He leans against the counter waiting for her to respond.

"You are never going to understand," she insists.

"I am a parent, I understand."

"My son was ripped away from me. He was two years old. The chances that he even has a single memory of me is slim to none. The chance that he is even alive..." she trails off.

"I know."

Her nostrils flare, and her face turns red, "No, you don't know. You don't know what it is like to wake up every single morning missing your child. You don't know what it is like to wonder if your child is even alive. You have no idea what it is like. Every time I think that I can move on... I can't. How could anyone move on? I have no closure. I have no idea what happened to him, who took him. I have been over every single shred of evidence a thousand times. For the first couple of years I spent every extra second that I had trying to figure this out. I looked for him. I tried to connect the dots. I tried to figure out who took him. I tried to find new evidence. And every single time I came up with nothing. I let it consume me, and I never told anyone."

"Kate I am sorry. I don't know that it is like. I just know that it would be something that I would never want to imagine."

"But I have to. Every day I have to live with it. I have to imagine every single possibility."

"I'm so sorry."

"Castle I don't think you know how much this has effected my life."

"How could I? You never let anyone in."

"Me?! What about you?"

"You had a son, and you didn't tell anyone."

"I don't have to justify myself to you," she argues.

"I didn't say that you did."

"You know why I don't let people in?"

"You're afraid that they will get too close, and they'll hurt you?"

She shakes her head, "I am afraid that when they find out who I really am..." she pauses, and blinks away tears as she clenches her jaw, "they won't want to have anything to do with me."

"What do you mean by find out who you really are? Am I missing something here?"

"I let people see what I want them to see. I am good at hiding things. I am good at keeping secrets. I always have been."

"You let your pain show when you can use it to your advantage," he realizes.

"I don't want anyone to ever think that I am weak."

"Why would anyone think that you are weak?"

"Castle it took every fiber of my being to get out of bed this morning. I just wanted to lie in bed, and wallow."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because if I give up on my life I lose."

"I have the feeling that you have given this a lot of thought."

She swallows hard, "You have no idea."

"So give me an idea," he implores.

"I obsessed over every detail of my son's disappearance. When I couldn't find the answers that I was looking for I got angry. I chose to turn in the wrong direction."

"What direction?"

"You know genetics is more powerful than any one of us care to admit."

He furrows his brow, "What do you mean?"

"I started drinking. I would drink every single night until I would pass out. I could still function. I thought that I was ok. One morning I woke up to the alarm on my phone going off. I was lying on my bathroom floor in front of the toilet in a pile of my own vomit, with a loaded gun in my hand. I don't remember what happened that night. I just know it was his birthday, and I started drinking the second that I stepped in the door that night. I don't know what I intended to do with that gun, but I am certain that it wasn't anything pleasant. I don't talk about him, because when I do I just want to drink. I want to drink until I can't feel anything anymore."

"What made you stop?"

"When I looked in the mirror that morning I saw a monster. My eyes were bloodshot, and I looked like a disaster. I knew that some make-up would camouflage the effects of the previous night. I knew that I could hide what happened from everyone around me, but myself. As I stared at my reflection that morning all I could think about was my son. I just kept thinking about what would happen if he came back to me that day. I wasn't fit to be his mother. The only thing in the world that I wanted was to have him back, to be his mom, and in that moment I wasn't even fit to do that. I knew that I things had to change, because if they didn't I wouldn't be here when he was found."

"When was this?"

"It doesn't matter," she insists.

"How long ago was this?"

"Three years ago."

"Three years ago? I knew you then. I worked with you every single day."

"Like I said, I am good at hiding things."

"Why didn't you ask for help? Why didn't you say something, anything?"

"Because I have never been any good at admitting that I need help."


	20. Before Middle Ground

"What changed?"

"I finally got over my own pride, and I realized that it doesn't matter who does the work, I really just want my son back."

"I know. How can I help."

"I don't know," she shrugs.

He looks into her eyes, and he sees fear. He kisses her gently. When he steps back he asks softly, "What are you thinking right now?"

"What I think about every day," she admits.

"Which is what?"

"I want to believe that someone took him, because they wanted him. I try to stay positive. Every day I try to convince myself that he's safe, and that he's ok," she tries to swallow the lump that has formed in her throat, "But I don't know that," she blinks away tears, "I don't know if he's safe. He could be anywhere. Anyone could have him. A child molester could have taken him. Horrible things could have happened to him. He could be in a shallow grave somewhere, for all I know. It kills me to think that I may never know," the tears fall freely now. She quickly progresses from an ugly cry into sobbing. He wraps his arms around her, and holds her tightly. After a few moments she lifts her head from his shoulder. She wipes away her tears with the palm of her hands.

"Kate," he says softly, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"About the drinking? Or about the part where I didn't want to..." she trails off.

"Why didn't you ever tell me about Dominick. I understand that this has got to be the most difficult thing you have ever gone through. I love you, and I just don't get why you _never_ mentioned it, never mentioned him. I know you have a hard time opening up to people. You know that you can tell me anything. Why didn't you tell me?! You could have told me when Alexis was abducted."

"How? I was not about to make you feel any worse than you already did. How was I supposed to inspire confidence in you that I could find your daughter, when I couldn't find my own son? I didn't want you to feel sorry for me. I didn't want you to worry about me .I needed you to worry about your daughter. I wanted to find her as much as you did."

"So when she was back, when we found her, why didn't you tell me then? After the dust settled you should have told me. I saw the look of pain in your eyes when you realized that she was missing. I thought it was about me, about Alexis, but it wasn't, was it?"

She shakes her head, "It was."

"But?"

"I knew what you were going through. I knew exactly how you were feeling. It hurt me so much to know you felt the same way I did. I wouldn't wish the pain of realizing that your child is missing on anyone."

"I don't know how you do it."

She swallows hard, "Do what?"

"Go to work every single day. How do you move on with your life?"

"I don't know, I will let you know when I figure it out. I try to move on with my life, but how can I? How can I move on with my life, when the most important person who has ever been in my life is missing? You know how you were talking about how you feel when you first meet your child?"

"Yeah," he nods in confirmation.

"I felt the same way too."

"Of course you did."

"But I didn't expect to. I didn't know I was going to feel that way about him. Until I met him, I wasn't even sure that I was going to keep him. I am a homicide detective. I was single, and I didn't know how I was going to do it. I didn't know how to make it work."

"But it didn't matter."

"No, from the second that I laid eyes on him nothing else mattered."

* * *

_September 8th, 2006-_

_ She sits in a hospital bed, with a brand new baby boy in her arms. He's been cleaned up, and he's swaddled in a blanket. The room is silent. The medical personnel have left, and her father has gone out for coffee. In the silence all she hears is the sound of the clock ticking. She takes a deep breath, and her eyes move to the baby in her arms. He looks up at her with big, bright eyes. She listens to the sound of him breathing. He is alert as he stares at her. _

_"Dominick," she whispers. His eyes search for the source of her voice. "I am so happy that you're here."_

* * *

"Did his father ever see him?"

"I called him the day that Dominick was born. He sent flowers, and a card. He didn't come to the hospital."

"So he never saw him?'

"No. He called me a few years ago."

"You didn't mention that."

"He called to tell me that he was sorry about what happened. He told me that he didn't do it. He..." she pauses.

"He what?"

"He told me that maybe it was for the best."

Castle stares at her in shock, "He said that? What kind of guy was this?"

"He was not who I thought he was," she admits.

"What do you mean? Don't you run a background check on every guy that you date?"

"I do now. I thought that I could trust him. I thought that he was a good guy."

"Any man who says his child's disappearance may be for the best, is not a guy worth wasting time on."

"I know that now. I know a lot of things now that I didn't then."

"For example?"

"He was married."

"When you spoke to him?"

She shakes her head, "When we were together."

"When did you find that out?"

"When I told him that I was pregnant."

"Did he take Dominick so his wife wouldn't find out?"

"He didn't take Dominick. I don't know if his wife knew. I never told her."

"Are they still married?"

"As far as I know. They were still married when Dominick went missing."

"What did he tell her when the cops showed up at his house to see if he had taken him?"

She shrugs, "I have no idea."

"Maybe the wife was in on it."

"They didn't take him. Eric didn't want him. Neither of them were in the state of New York when it happened. They were both in Phoenix."

"I want to help you."

"I know."

"Kate I don't know if I can."

"I don't either."

He shakes his head, as he looks into her eyes, "I don't know if I can do this at all."

"What?"

"I don't know if I can continue to be in this relationship. It is clear that you need some space. How can I marry someone who chooses to hide her feelings, and thoughts from me, at every turn?"


	21. What You Don't Want To Know

The following morning she sits at her kitchen counter, on a bar stool. She looks at the pile of papers in front of her, and then she looks over at the person sitting next to her.

"It's really weird having you here," she admits.

Victoria looks over at her, through the glasses she's wearing, "I just thought that you would feel more comfortable doing this here, instead of the precinct."

"I am, but you're still my boss," she points out.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Kate nods.

"How long?"

Beckett furrows her brow, "How long has he been missing?"

Gates shakes her head, "No I read the report. That isn't what I meant."

"How long, what?"

"Have you known?"

"Known what?"

"I know that the fifth anniversary of his abduction was a little over a week ago, but I have a feeling that isn't why you chose to reveal this to me, to anyone."

"I guess that I don't know what you're asking me."

"You know how much I like plausible deniability."

"Yes, sir," she nods.

"So I would prefer not to come right out and ask it," Gates clarifies.

"I have no idea what you're trying to ask me."

Gates cocks an eyebrow, "Really? You are a smart girl. You know exactly what I am trying to get at."

"I do?"

"There is a reason that you feel a sense of urgency to find him, other than the anniversary, isn't there?"

"Yes," Kate confirms.

"And despite the fact that you don't want to disclose what it is to me, I want you to know that I know."

Kate frowns, and furrows her brow, "You do?"

"And I realize that you haven't told anyone, not even Castle, which I have to say, is rather surprising."

"I haven't told anyone, you're right."

"So how long?"

"Does it matter?"

"Not really, I just want to know for my own curiosity. I have the feeling that it is close to the anniversary date of his abduction."

"Yes."

"You have admitted nothing to me, so that if asked, I know nothing," she smiles, in satisfaction.

"Why do you care?"

"You're a good cop. I would hate for personal conflicts to ruin your career."

"Me too."

"You should tell Castle."

"Can we just focus on this?" She points to the files in front of her.

"How are things between the two of you right now? I sense some tension between you."

"I don't want to talk about that. Can just we focus on finding Dominick?"

Victoria nods, "Yeah. What did you find out about the car parked outside of your house that day?"

"That it was incinerated by whoever stole it."

"They never figured out who stole it?"

"No."

"And who was the owner?"

"Pam Brennan."

"Do you recognize the name?"

"No."

"The address?"

"No."

"Why do you think someone took your son?"

"They did."

"For what reason? What was the motive?"

"Revenge," Kate answers.

"You're a detective, obviously you have made some enemies over the years, but what if it isn't about revenge?"

"A crime of opportunity?"

"What if it wasn't about you at all?"

She arches an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"What if it was about your son?"

"You think it was a pedophile?"

"I am just suggesting that maybe they didn't take him for the reasons that you think they did."

"I just want to find him. I don't care why someone took him. I just want him back."

"I spoke to a contact in the FBI, it turns out the lead investigator on the case died not long after the investigation. It was about three months after Dominick disappeared."

"You think that there is a connection?"

"I talked to his widow. She said that the autopsy ruled it natural causes. They insisted he died of a myocardial infarction."

"She didn't buy it?"

"She thought that he was murdered."

"By who?"

"She didn't know. She just said that he was anxious."

"Did he tell her about what?"

"He said a case, but he wouldn't give her anymore details."

"We should go talk to his partner, maybe he knows something."

"Maybe he did it," Victoria suggests.

* * *

Victoria takes a seat on a park bench next to a man wearing a black suit. He wears an earwig in his ear as he watches kids play on the playground. She flashes her badge. The man who sits on the bench next to her is in his mid forties. He is tall, and muscular. He has brown hair, and matching colored eyes. He looks like a g-man. Gates clears her throat.

"Mister Porter, I am Captain Gates with the NYPD."

"Ma'am I can't help you."

"I am here regarding a case that you worked five years ago. A disappearance of a little boy. His name was..."

He cuts her off, "Dominick Beckett. It was his second birthday."

"You remember?"

"Like it was yesterday."

"What did it have to do with your partner's untimely demise?"

"Everything."

"Did you kill him?"

"No, but someone did," he answers, never making eye contact.

"Who?"

"The person who arranged to have Dominick abducted."

"And who was that?"

"I wish that I knew."

"What do you know?" She arches her eyebrow.


	22. Proof

"My boss retired a month after Dominick's abduction."

"Which coincides with the halt of your investigation."

"He is the one who closed it. He retired after twenty years with the bureau."

"You think he had something to do with it?"

"What I think is purely speculation."

"You didn't try to prove it?"

"I tried. I got close to finding the truth, and I hit a wall."

"A wall?"

"My partner turned up dead. He knew something that he wasn't telling me."

"What happened to your boss?"

"He disappeared off the face of the planet a week after he retired. He cleaned out his bank accounts, and disappeared with his wife, and two daughters."

"How much was in his bank accounts?"

"Nothing that would set off any alarm bells."

"But?"

"You can't disappear with a couple hundred thousand dollars. Not entirely."

"You couldn't track him?"

"He cashed out, and then he moved out."

"You think that he took Dominick?"

"Ed Hayden was not the kind of man who got his hands dirty."

"So he was the brains of the operation?"

"That is what I suspected."

"And the brawn?"

"My partner."

"You think your partner had to do with Dominick's disappearance?"

"He took him."

"How do you know?"

"The security footage."

"From their house?"

"No."

"Why didn't you come forward with this information?"

"Lady this goes way above my pay grade. The day after I discovered the footage a couple of guys showed up at my house. They threatened my children's lives if I ever said anything."

"Why are you saying anything now?"

"Last winter I was driving them home from school. I was at a light, and I hit a patch of black ice. The light turned red, and I couldn't stop the car. It spun, we were hit by a full sized truck. Our vehicle flipped onto it's top, and the car ignited. I don't know how I made it out of that car. I just know that my wife, and my two kids, they're gone. I can never get them back. When the guys visited my house they took the footage. They didn't know I had a copy. They thought all of the evidence was destroyed. Since then I have made more copies. They are hidden in various locations. By tomorrow I will be dead, but at least I can say I helped bring him back," he places the flash drive in her hand.

"You should watch this yourself, before you let detective Beckett see it."

"Why?"

"It is going to turn her world upside down."

"Her world is already upside down."

"Trust me."

"Where is the footage from?"

"A grocery store a few blocks from where she lived in Newark."

"Okay."

"I should go now," he vacates his seat on the bench.

* * *

Gates returns to her vehicle. She pulls her laptop off the backseat. She places it on her lap, and turns it on. She plugs the flash drive into the computer. She watches in disbelief as the footage rolls. She turns the computer off, and tucks the flash drive into her pocket. She pulls out her phone, and dials a number. Half an hour later she pulls into a driveway in Newark. She parks her car outside the home, and she waits. A car pulls up behind her, and a familiar face gets out. She exits her car, and heads for the front porch. She takes a seat on the bench, and waits for the other party to join her. The figure takes a seat next to her.

"Captain Gates I am not sure why you called me. What is this meeting about? Why did you want to meet me here?"

"I understand now why there was no forensic evidence of anyone being in Dominick's room. Everything makes sense now."

"What do you mean?"

"There is no forensic evidence of anyone being in this house," she points behind her, "because the only people who were in this house belonged here."

"Are you accusing me of something?"

"Dominick wasn't sick. He wasn't taken that evening, was he?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"She is going to hate you for this. She is not going to forgive you."

"I can live with that."

"How can you be so cold?"

"You don't understand. You weren't there."

"I saw the footage. I may not have heard the conversation, but I know that what you did was wrong."

"I had no choice."

"You had a choice, and you made the wrong one."

"I need to show you something."

"Fine," she nods in agreement.

She enters the house, behind the other party involved. She enters the house. They snake their way through the living room up the stairs, and down the hall. They head into a bedroom. Gates enters the bedroom. Ahead of her is a wall. She turns to face the bed. Behind the bed is a window. To her left is a closet. She stands in front of a chest of drawers, and a mirror. She watches as the suspect stops next to her, and reaches a hand behind her. She turns to face the mirror. To her right there is a picture. It is a picture of Dominick, the one taken in the hospital. She watches as the hand lifts the frame off the wall. It is placed on the dresser face down. The back is pried open. A stack of pictures is places in her hands. She thumbs through the pictures. There are five of them in total. She swallows hard.

"I don't understand. This is Dominick," she comments.

"I know."

She flips to the last picture, "This is on his seventh birthday."

"Yes, I know."

"He's alive?"


	23. Guilty By Association

"It was the only way."

"The only way? He is alive, and you knew it? You have been receiving pictures of him, and you never told her. You never told her the truth at all. You knew who took him. You saw his face. You willingly gave her child to a total stranger. Why?"

"It was the only way to keep them safe."

"Someone took her son away from her," Gates argues.

"It was a negotiation on their part. If I wanted them to both stay alive, I had to let them take Dominick. It was the only way they could both stay alive. It was the only way I would ever get to see him again. I chose their lives."

"Who are they?"

"The same people responsible for Johanna's death."

Kate opens her door, and allows the captain into her apartment. Victoria carries her laptop. She points to the couch.

"You need to have a seat."

"You found something out from the FBI agent?"

"Yes," she nods.

Kate has a seat on the couch. Victoria sets up the laptop on the coffee table that sits in front of the couch.

"There is something that you need to see."

"Ok."

"You aren't going to like it," Gates adds.

"Show me. I don't care what it is, just show me," Kate insists.

Victoria plugs the flash drive in. She opens the file, and the security footage begins to play. Kate watches in horror. The footages is from a security camera at a grocery store she's visited just blocks from her former Newark address. The camera is focused on the cereal aisle. She sees her father come into frame. He is pushing a shopping cart. He stops to look at the cereal to his right. Dominick is inside of the basket of the shopping cart. He is lying inside, sound asleep.

A man in a black suit walks down the aisle coming from the opposite end of the aisle. He stops at the cart, and flashes a badge, and a gun. He has a discussion with Jim. Jim nods, and the man in black lifts Dominick out of the cart. Dominick opens his eyes, and threatens to cry. The man slips a pacifier into his mouth, and walks away. Another camera in the store shows footage of the man in black walking out of the store holding Dominick. The camera footage from the parking lot shows him load Dominick into the back of an SUV. It is obvious by the time it takes him that he is fastening the boy into a car seat. The car door closes, and he climbs into the driver's seat. He backs out of the parking space, and leaves.

Kate looks over at Victoria in disbelief, "I don't understand. My dad lied to me. What happened? Why did he let someone just take my son?"

"Did you recognize the man in the video?"

"He was one of the investigators. Castle said that he thought he had something to do with it. I didn't believe him," Kate says in disbelief.

"Beckett there is more."

"More? How could there be more? My father lied to me. He saw who took Dominick. He let him take Dominick."

Victoria pulls the pictures out of her blazer pocket. She hands them to Kate. Beckett examines the first one. It is of her son sitting in front of a cake with three candles. She flips through the photos one by one, until she reaches a picture of Dominick in front of a cake with a candle in the shape of a seven on the top.

"Where did you get these?"

"Your father had them."

"What?!"

"He has been receiving them every year since Dominick's disappearance, on his birthday."

"Please explain this to me. Why would he..." she trails off.

"It all goes back to your mother's murder."

"What?"

"They wanted an insurance policy in case you ever figured out who it was. They wanted to trade your silence for your son. The man who approached your father in the grocery store is the dead agent. His partner figured out part of the puzzle, but his family was threatened, so he remained silent."

"Why did he come forward, now?"

"His family died in a car accident. Your father let them take Dominick to keep the both of you alive. The man who took him was just a patsy. I don't know who actually has Dominick. I just know that your father chose to give your son to them, because he knew what they were capable of. They vowed to let you, and Dominick live, if your father allowed them to take your son."

"This all very hard to believe. My father... he wouldn't do that."

"To keep the two of you alive."

"I can't believe he would betray me like this. He let someone take my son from me," she begins to cry.

"Sometimes the truth is worse than not knowing."

"I still don't know who has my son."

"Someone with deep pockets, and the means to carry out such an elaborate crime."

"Senator Bracken."

"I did some digging."

"And?"

"Eric moved to Phoenix sometime before you had Dominick, right?"

"Yes. Why does everyone want to pin this on Eric? The police in Phoenix..."

Gates cuts her off, "You need to hear this."

"Okay."

"Bracken was one of his clients. He was one of his clients for years."

"What are you saying?"

"How did you meet Eric?"

"At a diner near the precinct one night after work. Why?"

"How long were you together?"

"Like a minute and a half."

"How long?"

"Three months," she admits.

"You found out you were pregnant within three months of meeting him?"

"He was charming. I didn't know that he was married. He said all of the right things."

"How far along were you when you told him?"

"About eight weeks, why?"

"How long did you wait to..."

Kate cuts her off, "You're my boss, and that is an incredibly uncomfortable question to answer."

"Answer it anyway."

"A month."

"So you got pregnant roughly around the same time that you first slept with him?"


End file.
